Motor grader boom



Aug. 18, 1964 A. F, WOODMAN, JR 3,145,015

MOTOR GRADER BOOM Filed March 13, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Alfred E Woodmon, Jr.

BY M%*W ATTORNEYS Aug. 18, 1964 Filed March 13, 1961 A. F. WOODMAN, JR

MOTOR GRADER BOOM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n 0 w o 05E] Alfred E Woodman, Jr.

ATTORNEY)? United States Patent 3,145,015 MUIGR GRADER 1590M Alfred F. Woodman, Ira, Manhattan, Kane, assignor to Eila Jean Woodman, Manhattan, Karts. lFiied Mar. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 95,150 2 Claims. (Cl. 254-427) This invention relates to lifting booms for motor vehicles, and more particularly to a novel boom structure adapted for mounting on a conventional motorized road grader.

Motor graders are used by many relatively small cities, towns and townships as their principal or primary traction vehicle in view of the high cost of road construction and maintenance equipment and the fact a grader is about the largest vehicle of this type which is operable by one man. There is and has been a long time need for accessory equipment that will make such a grader more versatile and effective.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an accessory unit which serves both as lifting boom to enable the grader to raise heavy objects and to replace the need for an expensive winch unit used on occasion to aid the grader in freeing itself when stuck in a position such that its driving wheels cannot effect movement of the grader.

Another object of this invention is to provide novel boom constructions especially adapted for use on existing motor graders without modifications 0f the grader and which are of inexpensive construction and easy to carry along with the grader.

These and other objects of the invention will become more fully apparent from the claims, and from the following description as it proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a pictorial view of a motor grader showing the boom of the present invention in operating position on the front of the grader;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the novel boom shown on the grader in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in side elevation in partial section of the boom of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevation view in section taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an end elevation view in section taken along lines 55 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of a boom constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation view in partial section taken along lines 7-7 of the boom of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a view of one of the straddle plates used on the boom of FIGURES 6 and 7.

Referring now to the drawings, the motor grader 10 has front wheels 12 and 14 supported on opposite ends of front axle 16. Supported near the middle of front axle 16 is the front of the main supporting frame 18 of the grader which may be provided with a pair of axially aligned horizontal hubs 19 and 20 having on their outer ends bosses 22 (only one of which shows in FIGURE 1) of reduced diameter. Frame 18 also supports a power operated unit 24 which has power shaft 26 and radial arms 28 and 32 which are provided with suitable means for receiving the ends of cable 30. To the rear of power operated unit 26 is the usual operators cab 34, engine (not shown) and driving wheels 36.

ice

Referring now also to FIGURES 2 and 3, boom 40 may be formed of two pieces of 2" x 2" x 5" channel iron or steel members 42 and 44 which are welded together as along lines 4-6 to form a boom having a boxlike cross section as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. At end 43 nearest the grader, the two channel members 42. and may be bent apart to provide bifurcated end portions 54) and 52, the ends of which are cut out as at slots 54. If desired, plates 55 may be welded across the open face of end portions 5t) and 52 and a cross piece 56 such as a 3 inch pipe may be welded at its opposite ends to end portions 5% and 52 to provide increased rigidity for the boom.

At the outer end of boom 40, means are provided for loading the boom such for example, as T-shaped member 58 having an edge mounted plate as with through apertures 62 that are adapted to receive a cable, clevis, hook, chain or other suitable lifting device (not shown). Member 58 contains a plate 64 which is secured to the underside of boom 4t as by welding or by use of suitable fasteners.

A similar T-shaped member 66 having edge mounted plate 68 secured to the top side of boom 4d is located at a position along boom 4t) intermediate its end portions. The upwardly directed plate 7th is provided with a series of apertures 72 which are adapted to receive pin d9 of clamp 71. Clamp 71 may have an eye 7.3 (or pulley if desired) for receiving cable 39.

With slots '54 on end portions 56 and 52 of the boom placed in position over bosses 2t} and 22 on the frame or" the grader and pin 6? of clamp 71 passing through one of apertures 72 and holding boom it! in position as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the boom is ready for loading.

By passing clamp pin 69 through an aperture close to end 48 of the boom, the boom may be lowered to a nearly horizontal position about 4 feet above the ground. By passing clamp pin 69 through an aperture close to the center of the boom, the boom may be raised to a nearly vertical position about 12 feet above the ground. Boom 4-0 is raised and lowered by operation of power operated unit, which controls the rotation of power shaft 26 and radial arms 28 and arm 32. Arms 23 and 32 move cable 30 which in turn is connected to clamp 71 as by eye or ring 73.

For the invention to be most useful, the boom length should be on the order of 10 to 15 feet. However, as booms of such lengths are bulky, heavy and difficult to transport, I have found that it is particularly useful to construct boom 40 in two parts or sections with facing ends 75 disposed along a sloping cut joining main channel members 4 2 and 44 together at a central position near pin 76. By providing two pairs of straddle plates 78, 79, 8t and 81 on the side edges of channel members 42 and 44 having edge surfaces "that abut along sloping line 82, and pin 76 extending completely through the channel members 42 and 4d of the outer boom section and straddle plates 8% and 81 of the inner boom piece, the boom may be loaded as usual. For purposes of carrying the boom, the free end may be folded upwardly about the axis of pin 76 into two parts each having a length of about 5 feet. The upper edge of plates 8t) and 81 are preferably rounded or provided with a curvature having pin 7 6 as its center so the boom doesnt have to be taken apart for folding. Pin 76 is above the center of the cena ter line of the boom and preferably near the upper surface.

Also, by providing one end of pin 76 with a suitable removable fastener such as cotter pin 86, pin 76 can be removed and the two parts of the boom may be separated for easier carrying.

Referring now to FIGURES 6-8, a further embodiment of a foldable boom construction is illustrated. In this embodiment the first length or section 9% of the boom is adapted to be mounted at the end (not shown) on bosses 19 and 20 of the grader of FIGURE 1, and contains an edge mounted plate 2 with apertures to receive clamp 71. A second edge mounted plate 94 may be provided on the lower side of the first boom length 90 to permit use of just one boom length where desired.

For joining a second length or section 9% to the boom, a hollow steel pipe 93 may be secured as by welding to the upper surface of the first boom section 941. Two straddle plates 100, 101 as shown in FIGURE 8 are welded to boom section 96 in a position to extend along the sides of boom section 96). An aperture we is provided in plates 100, 101 at a position to be in alignment with the bore in pipe 98. When boom section 96 is placed at the end of boom section 90, the two boom sections may be held together by the inserting bolt 104 through apertures 102 in plates 1%, 1591 and pipe 9?. Bolt 104 may conveniently be held in position by lock nut 106.

The end surfaces 108 and 110 of boom sections 99 and 96, respectively, which are preferably cut along a 45 line relative to the boom axis; abut each other and thus prevent the free end of the boom from folding downwardly. By raising the free end of the boom upwardly, boom length 96 pivots about bolt 1% to thus be folded back on boom length 90.

As straddle plates 100, 101 extend along the side walls of boom section 9%), considerable strength is provided for sidewise loading. However, "to further strengthen the boom for such loading, steel blocks 112; having dimensions of, for example 1 /2 x 1 x 3", may be notched to receive straddle plates 1%, ltll and welded to the side walls of boom section 90.

Surface 114 on block 112 abuts surface 116 on the respective straddle plate to thus strengthen the boom for load forces which act in a sidewise direction.

For maximum utility of the boom, it has been found that a boom length of about feet is preferred. Boom section 91) is preferably limited to a length of about 6 feet for ease of handling. Boom section 96 is preferably about 4 feet long so that the two boom sections together give a boom length of about 10 feet. With edge mounted plate 118 provided on boom section 96, these two booms may be used alone.

To obtain a longer boom length, boom section, 96 may be provided with pipe 120 and notched blocks 122. A third boom section 124 having straddle plates 125, 126 may then be added to the free end of boom section 96 in the same manner that boom section 96 is secured to boom section 90.

The booms as described above offer several advantages in that they may be manufactured by an operation that primarily involves welding. While other types of manufacturing may obviously be used, the economy of a welding operation makes possible the construction of a boom of suificient strength at minimum cost. It is also contemplated that telescoping pipes may be used in accordance with certain of the concepts of the present invention.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and 4. range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a vehicle of the type having at least four ground engaging wheels, a central frame member extending to the axle between the front wheels, a pair of bosses extending outwardly in a substantially horizontal direction from opposite sides of said central frame member, and a power operated unit including a clamp means driven by said power operated unit; a lifting boom composed of two elongated pieces of channel shaped structural members secured together longitudinally to form a boom having a box shaped cross section, said channel members being spaced apart at one end of the boom and provided with slots at the extreme end portions to slide on said pair of bosses to thus support the boom at one end on said central frame member for pivotal movement in vertical plane, the other end portion of said boom being free for movement and having an edge mounted plate member with a hook receiving aperture secured to the underside of said channel members for loading said boom and a further edge mounted plate member secured to the upper side of said channel members intermediate the end portions of said boom and having an aperture for receiving said clamp means whereby the boom may be controlled for pivotal movement about said bosses by said power operated unit to thereby move the free end portion of the boom in a vertical plane; the lifting boom further comprising first and second sections placed together in an end to end relationship, the first section having said slots and said edge mounted plate member for receiving said clamp means and the second section having the loading member; means for joining said first and second sections together including straddle plates on opposite side walls of one of said sections, a hollow pipe secured to an upper surface on the other section to be between said straddle plates and a pin extending through apertures in said straddle plates and through said hollow pipe with edge surfaces on one section abutting facing edge surfaces on the other section when the boom is in its load carrying position, stop means secured to the outside wall surfaces of said other section and each positioned to abut against an edge of said straddie plate when said boom is in its load carrying position, said stop means comprising blocks having a thickness greater than the thickness of the straddle plates, said blocks being notched to receive said straddle plates to strengthen the boom for load forces which act in a sidewise direction.

2. A lifting boom construction composed of two elongated sections of channel shaped structural members connected together in an end to end arrangement, said connection arrangement comprising a pair of straddle plates secured to the outside surfaces of opposite legs of a first of said channel member near an end thereof and extending beyond the end of the first channel member; a hollow pipe extending across the upper surface of the second of said pair of channel members adjacent an end thereof; said straddle plates having aligned apertures and positioned to be aligned with the opening in said hollow pipe when said channel members are connected together; pin means extending through said apertures and said pipe; the facing end surfaces of said channel members being in abutting relationship when the boom is in its load carrying position; and stop means secured to the outside wall surfaces of said second channel member and each positioned to abut against an edge of said straddle plate when said boom is in its load carrying position, said stop means comprising blocks having a thickness greater than the thickness of the straddle plates, said blocks being notched to receive said straddle plates to strength the boom for load forces which act in a sidewise direction.

(References on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS Cooper Nov. 22, 1898 Repplinger Jan. 13, 1942 Mosher Nov. 10, 1942 Luckett Aug. 27, 1946 Berchtold May 22, 1951 Jordan Oct. 14, 1952 Wagner Nov. 11, 1952 6 Schaich Feb. 23, 1954 Dyer Oct. 11, 1955 McClernon 0 Feb. 21, 1956 Anselmo June 5, 1956 Olson Oct. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Norway Jan. 13, 1958 Germany Oct. 6, 1952 

2. A LIFTING BOOM CONSTRUCTION COMPOSED OF TWO ELONGATED SECTIONS OF CHANNEL SHAPED STRUCTURAL MEMBERS CONNECTED TOGETHER IN AN END TO END ARRANGEMENT, SAID CONNECTION ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING A PAIR OF STRADDLE PLATES SECURED TO THE OUTSIDE SURFACES OF OPPOSITE LEGS OF A FIRST OF SAID CHANNEL MEMBER NEAR AN END THEREOF AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE END OF THE FIRST CHANNEL MEMBER; A HOLLOW PIPE EXTENDING ACROSS THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE SECOND OF SAID PAIR OF CHANNEL MEMBERS ADJACENT AN END THEREOF; SAID STRADDLE PLATES HAVING ALIGNED APERTURES AND POSITIONED TO BE ALIGNED WITH THE OPENING IN SAID HOLLOW PIPE WHEN SAID CHANNEL MEMBERS ARE CONNECTED TOGETHER; PIN 